Small Groups and Prayer for Power

As Independent Baptists we are often resistant to change unless we perceive it to be biblical and much needed.  As a pastor I constantly look at our church for needs and ways to meet them.  For a long time I have noticed the closeness that more contemporary churches gain from small groups.  I have even compared that to days gone by when in a smaller church my wife and I had a small group of close friends at church.  We knew each other very well and could pray and encourage each other on a very special level.  As church size has grown and our pace of life has accelerated, the average couple in church doesn't have this same surrounding of friends and encouragers.

Most any Baptist could quote to you Hebrews 10:25 that talks about not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is...  We have all heard preaching on being faithful to church attendance.  However, I dare say, many if not most have never heard a sermon or a lesson on the verse before.
     Heb. 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works.
This command to consider one another goes farther than just sitting in a congregation.  To consider is to get to know well enough that you will be able to encourage (provoke) someone to love and accept being loved and to maintain good works.  Do you see the accountability and the closeness in this verse?  Do you realize that this is impossible in the larger group?

Recognizing both the need and the command I began to look at small groups.  I did not like what I saw.  The groups presented several problems that I just couldn't seem to work through.  They almost always were a replacement for a traditional Sunday night or Wednesday night service or both. I felt like we needed more time in the Word, not less.  As I investigated, I was led to believe that the teaching time wasn't lost because of the devotions in the group.  This brought me to my second major complaint.  Without fail, the least trained and the least qualified to be teachers and leaders and to supplant the pastor's role of feeding the flock were the small group leaders.  I present this as a criticism with the pastoral leadership and not the small group leader since it is the pastor's responsibility to equip the member for the work of the ministry.  However, without fail, small group leaders were so unqualified that in many churches the leaders reflected everything from Calvinism to Charismaticism and they did more harm than good in unifying the church around the fundamental doctrines of Scripture.

Another dilemma surfaced when I looked at adding small groups to our schedule without eliminating any regular services.  I thought, we will keep Sunday school, morning and evening preaching and Wednesday night Bible study and add small groups.  One attempt at this proved fatal.  Not only were people struggling to keep up with a four service a week church in light of the contemporary one service per week model,  they rebelled completely at adding another night of the week for small groups.


For over a year I abandoned the idea all together and remained focused on the big room service.  Yet, every month we were losing more and more battles.  The enemy was succeeding in dividing, discouraging and afflicting our families.  It was obvious that we had to have more prayer time and that we needed to be able to "consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works".  After brainstorming with several friends, staff and church members we ventured out into new waters.


Last Sunday night Lighthouse Baptist Church began what may very well be the most revolutionary move we have ever made as a church.  We instituted the Prayer for Power Sunday evening service that allows me to do the preaching/teaching and to have somewhat of a traditional church service.  Then everyone divided up into small groups of 8-10 people for discussion of the message, prayer for the power of God on our ministries and for prayer for each individual in the group.  We are just in the beta process of this new venture but the reviews so far have been phenomenally good. From the leaders to the members I haven't seen this much positive enthusiasm and agreement in a long time.  Groups are getting to know each other.  They are getting their meeting places established.  (I've given liberty in this area and some are meeting in their homes and some are meeting at church. One group is meeting at Wendy's,)  Their children are in youth choir practice and a nursery is available for babies.  Teens have their own groups as well as the singles & college students.  Everyone realizes that this Prayer for Power is a must if we are going to stay in the battle for souls and the kingdom of heaven. Our mission is the Great Commission and we must pray for the power of God to accomplish this great task.

I will keep you posted on the progress.

Just Saying